Posts from August 2011

August 30, 2011

Since May I’ve been working with the Novation UltraNova. The synth engine and touch encoders make this a fantastic performance synth. I especially love the VST/AU Editor which I’ve been using not only to tweak and create patches but also as a controllerism bridge between Ableton Live and the UltraNova hardware.

Checkout this video I just published on YouTube “Automating Novation UltraNovaSynth Parameters with Ableton Live Dummy Clips” (Watch embedded video in HD). Note the techniques shown in this video could be applied to other hardware synthesizers with plugin interfaces.

The video illustrates how you can use Ableton Live automation envelopes to modulate parameters on the Novation UltraNova. In the video I connect the UltraNova via USB and then configure Live's MIDI ports to see it as a controller. I then insert the UltraNova plugin editor (VST in my case as I'm on Windows) into a MIDI track. I press the "Configure" button on the device which allows me to add UltraNova parameters to the device simply by turning a knob in the editor interface.

Once this is completed you can create a dummy MIDI clip in an empty clip slot and draw modulation envelops for the parameters mapped.

August 24, 2011

We're pleased to announce the release of Live 8.2.5, the latest Ableton Live 8 version. Live 8.2.5 is available as a free downloadable update to all owners of Live Lite 8, Live Intro, Live 8, and Suite 8.

Known issue: As of 10.7, Java is no longer installed by default on Mac OS X. In addition, there is a bug that can cause applications that require Java to crash. This affects Max for Live; when a user tries to open a M4L device that requires Java, first Max, and then Live, will crash. We have worked on a fix for this on our side, which is available in this latest build, but the fix is not yet available in Max. Cycling '74 will release a Max update shortly with the fix. For now, users with Max for Live should install Java separately if it is required by their devices, to avoid the crash.

Improvements and feature changes

MIDI sync has been improved when Live is a MIDI clock slave

Imported tracks (from the Live Browser) now route to Master if their original output routing can't be resolved, instead of "Sends Only."

The default for the Takeover mode in the MIDI Preferences is now Value Scaling instead of Pick-up.

We now prevent choosing the root of the system hard drive (or the Windows system folders on Windows machines) as the third-party plugin location. Doing that would crash Live on startup, because these folders contain files that are interpreted as third-party plugins.

Bugfixes

Live would freeze and crash on OS X Lion when sending MIDI data to any MIDI port.

Under certain conditions, quantizing transient markers could lead to overlapping warp markers, which would cause various problems when editing the warp marker or its segment BPM value.

Under certain conditions, the "Transient"-based Beats warp mode would play double attacks. With this bug fixed, it is possible that some clips sound different.

Excluding a plug-in from the scan process didn't work if Live crashed because of the first scanned plug-in, after enabling the VST plug-in source via Live's Preferences (Mac only).

Rendering a Live Set containing an EQ3 at sample rates below 44.1 KHz would result in an audio file containing pure silence.

Fixed a crash when loading a Live 7 Set with invalid clip color information in Live 8.

Detail view appeared empty after Hot-Swapping an unfolded Rack, because devices were scrolled out of view.

Infinitely long clips would be created if rewinding the global transport while making a new recording.

Track names could be incorrectly displayed when unfolding a Live set in the Live Browser. This only happened for "automatic names" that tracks get from the Instrument they contain. For Live Sets saved in earlier versions, names of tracks containing Racks, Max for Live devices or third-party plugins may still look wrong. Re-saving the Sets will fix the problem.

Some Operator presets could sound different when loading them, and then creating or moving a track.

The Frontier Design Tranzport was not getting updated when switching tracks.

The green zoom button was sometimes disabled when using Live with Mac OS X.

Resuming a clip in Session view while the track is armed but OVR is OFF could result in the clip not playing its notes.

Toggling OVR ON and OFF doesn't create an UNDO step anymore

Certain Library content wasn't usable for Live Intro users since version 8.2.

Enabling a clip loop via the loop switch or the Set Loop Length button would sometimes stop the clip.

Fixed a crash which could occur when hot-swapping a certain Drum Rack pad.

August 18, 2011

New York based electronic musician AfroDJMac has been crushing it with his weekly releases of free Ableton Racks and companion videos. At the time of this post he’s up to week #21. Whether you are looking for fresh sounds or need some inspiration for creating your own racks I encourage you to swing by his site or subscribe to his feed. There is a lot of creativity and variety in these racks!

August 16, 2011

Nick’s Tutorials has released Operator Ambience Vol. 1. This is more than just a sound set and in addition to 20 Operator Patches the library also contains, 20 Live Clips, and 21 Videos.

I consider Ableton Operator (along with Ableton Sampler) to be required instruments for your rig. Operator is not only an expressive FM synth with a great user interface, it also can be used as a utility of sorts. For example, you can use it to create discrete frequencies to say surgically give a kick drum more oomph. If you are new to Operator, your going to want to check out Nick’s previous tutorial Sound Design in Ableton Live: Operator.

Back to Operator Ambience Vol. 1 - according to the web site:

“Unlike larger, bloated libraries that attempt to cover every need possible, this affordable set is all about providing a tightly focused, thematically consistent set of ambient and atmospheric sounds.”

I really love this idea of a smaller deep thematic set of sounds and went the same route with my “Sounds From a Distant Outpost” library. As always Nick’s videos are informative and inspiring and even if you know Operator fairly well, odds are you’ll pick up on some new tricks.

The Digital download Contains:

20 Operator patches that are completely open to reverse-engineering, tweaking, and learning

20 modifiable Live Clips corresponding with the patches which provide musical phrases and inspiration

1 substantive introductory video packed with Ableton Live tips as well as detailing common elements between all the patches

20 short videos detailing unique or noteworthy aspects of each patch, giving insight into their construction and suggestions for using them

The same open inbox policy for support that I provide with all of my products (limited by my schedule, of course!)

Sample Audio

Here are some samples of the sounds, but remember, these are all under Macro control so you can take these same sounds and get different results using the knowledge you’ll pick up in these videos.

Of course the idea here is you’ll take these core concepts to improve existing patches or create your own unique patches. Nick's tips on using velocity as a modulator throughout Operator alone are with the price of admission. This is an incredible value at $9.99 when you consider how much work Nick put into this package and I'm really glad I bought it. Highly recommended.

August 11, 2011

Last March AI I had the opportunity to play a set with Robert Edgar at the Art Institute of California/Sunnyvale. Robert and AI have gone on to create “2nd Fridays at AI Sunnyvale”. If you are in the San Francisco area, make sure you swing by the show tomorrow night where Andy Puls and Tim Thompson will be playing.

I’m excited about this series and hope to make it back to Sunyvale myself someday.

Splotlight Posts

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